U.S. patent number 4,432,105 [Application Number 06/322,467] was granted by the patent office on 1984-02-21 for shower device.
Invention is credited to Pravin G. Pitroda.
United States Patent |
4,432,105 |
Pitroda |
February 21, 1984 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Shower device
Abstract
A plumbing device stores one or more additives, and allows
injection and mixing of such additives into the water stream
delivered to a plumbing fixture such as a shower head or faucet.
The design of the passage for the water stream provides a pressure
differential sufficient to draw the additive into the water stream,
while check valves are used to prevent backflow of additives. A
mixing chamber, with an impeller element, mixes the injected
material with the water stream. Metering valves may be used to
control the amount of additive dispensed.
Inventors: |
Pitroda; Pravin G. (Joliet,
IL) |
Family
ID: |
23255032 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/322,467 |
Filed: |
November 18, 1981 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
239/303; 137/893;
222/144.5; 239/318; 4/597; 4/605; 4/615 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E03C
1/046 (20130101); Y10T 137/87627 (20150401) |
Current International
Class: |
E03C
1/04 (20060101); E03C 1/046 (20060101); A47K
003/22 () |
Field of
Search: |
;4/597,596,605,615
;239/70,303,304,305,318,310,317 ;137/624.11,889,268,893
;222/148,630,144.5 ;366/280 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Artis; Henry K.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Dick and Harris
Claims
I claim:
1. A shower device apparatus for combining a first liquid stream
with selected secondary liquids into a mixed liquid outflow
comprising:
an inlet for said first liquid stream at its first end;
an outlet for said outflow at its second end;
fluid conduit means for the passage of said liquid stream
therethrough communicating with said inlet at its upstream end and
with said outlet at its downstream end;
injection means interposed between said inlet and said outlet to
inject selected ones of said secondary liquids into said first
liquid stream within said fluid conduit;
said injection means having venturi means along a portion of its
length so as to result in said secondary liquids being drawn into
said fluid conduit; and
main mixing means positioned intermediate said injection means and
said outlet in a position, substantially within said fluid conduit
and cooperating with said venturi means to deliver said outflow in
mixed fashion;
said main mixing means including rotatable impeller means
positioned proximate said outlet for contact with and mixing of
said first and second liquids into said liquid stream.
2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said venturi means
comprises:
a throat having an entrance and exit and shaped to linearly
increase in cross-sectional area from said entrance to said exit so
as to result in a drop in pressure of said liquid stream flowing
therethrough;
a frustoconical section communicating with said exit of said
throat, increasing in cross-sectional area therefrom, in the
direction of fluid flow and reducing the pressure of said liquid
stream flowing therethrough prior to the entry of said stream into
the main mixing means communicating therewith;
gravity assisted secondary liquid dispensing means communicating
with said venturi means to facilitate the drawing of said secondary
liquid into said first liquid flowing within said fluid conduit;
and
said frustoconical section collecting said primary and secondary
fluids and allowing preliminary mixing of said fluids thereat prior
to delivery into said main mixing means.
3. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said main mixing
means comprises:
said impeller element;
said impeller element being rotatable about an axis;
a mixing chamber being cylindrical in shape and substantially
surrounding said impeller element; and
said impeller being positioned within said chamber with its axis of
rotation positioned transverse to the path of flow through said
fluid conduit of said outflow.
4. The apparatus as recited in claim 2 wherein said gravity
assisted secondary liquid dispensing means comprises:
one or more secondary liquid storage reservoirs situated above said
fluid conduit;
one or more passages operably connected between said storage
reservoirs and said throat so as to permit downward passage of one
or more of said secondary liquids into said first liquid stream
within said fluid conduit proximate said throat;
control means interposed between said storage reservoir and said
passages for selectively permitting flow of one or more of said
secondary liquids from said storage reservoirs to said passages;
and
said passage and control means allowing simultaneous injection of
one or more of said secondary liquids into said flow of first
liquid as desired.
5. The apparatus as recited in claim 3 wherein said chamber has an
entry and an exit,
said entry being approximately one-half the size of said inlet,
and
said exit being approximately the same size as said outlet.
6. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said impeller
element includes a plurality of vanes, and
said impeller means being rotated by the force of said outflow
contacting said vanes.
7. The apparatus as recited in claim 2 wherein
said throat has a cross-sectional area substantially smaller than
that of said inlet, and
said throat tapering to a larger cross-sectional area in the
direction of flow of said first liquid stream.
8. The apparatus as recited in claim 2 wherein said throat has
first and second tapering segments,
said first segment beginning with a first cross-sectional area
substantially smaller than that of said inlet, and terminating with
a second cross-sectional area larger than said first
cross-sectional area,
said second segment beginning with a third cross-sectional area the
same as said second cross-sectional area, and
said second segment tapering to terminate with a cross-sectional
area approximating that of said inlet.
Description
My invention relates generally to the area of plumbing fixtures
and, more particularly, to a mixing device which enables the
selective combination of bath oils, shampoo, soaps, and the like
with the stream of water coming from a fixture such as a shower
head or faucet. My invention may be provided in a form which is
attachable to a conventional and already installed shower
arrangement, or faucet, or may be provided in a configuration
intended for installation as original equipment.
There have been efforts by others to provide a shower accessory
which would enable the shower user to select a bathing additive,
such as bath oil or shampoo, to be mixed with the stream of water
coming from the shower head. However, to my knowledge, these
devices have not become popular or commercially successful.
One such device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,486,695 issued to
Novak. Another such is U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,822 issued to Usher. Yet
another is U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,206 issued to Chase et al.
The problems encountered by prior art devices such as those
referred to above center around the fact that the additives
selected to be injected into the water stream are often times
viscous or partially insoluble. This can lead to the clogging of
the relatively small exit holes formed in a shower head,
necessitating frequent cleaning of the shower head, making the unit
inconvenient to use, and discouraging people from utilizing it.
Another disadvantage of prior efforts in this area is the failure
of such units to provide simple, positive-acting structure enabling
several types of bath additives to be simultaneously stored in the
unit and selectively used. For example, within a single family,
there may be several favorite brands of shampoo or soap among the
family members, or bath oils or other additives which would be
appropriate for use by some members of the family may be totally
inappropriate for other members of the family. To this end, such a
unit should provide for the storage of multiple bath additives and
should employ a simple and direct method to inject whatever
additive is selected by the user.
Another disadvantage of prior efforts in this area is the
difficulty with which such units are retro-fitted to existing
plumbing installations, and the bulk and nonattractiveness of the
units after they are installed.
Accordingly, the present invention has the following objects:
To provide a device making it possible to inject bath oils or other
additives into the water stream from a plumbing fixture, such as a
shower or faucet quickly and effectively;
To provide such a device with means to mix the additive with the
water stream prior to its exit from the fixture;
To provide such a device in versions which allow the storage
therein and use of multiple bath oils, soaps or additives;
To provide such units in forms which are economical to manufacture,
attractive in appearance, and which are easy and simple to install
on existing facilities;
To provide such devices with positive-acting means to select
individual additives; and
To provide such devices in forms which are compact and attractive
for installation as original equipment.
These, and further objects, will become more apparent upon a
consideration of the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of one version of my invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a contemplated version of my
invention;
FIG. 3 is a top view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2; and
FIG. 4 is a side view of yet another embodiment of my invention
intended for installation on already shower facilities.
There is described herein, in varying scope, an accessory making
possible the injection of additives to the stream of water exiting
from a plumbing fixture.
To this end, the present invention has an inlet, intended to be
attached to the pipe which feeds water to the fixture. In one
embodiment of the invention, such attachment may be made as an
original piece of equipment, installed when the pipe itself is
installed. In another embodiment, the inlet is attachable to that
portion of the pipe that has been threaded to receive the original
fixture.
Water reaches an entry chamber by way of the inlet. At its outlet
end, the entry chamber is restricted to form a throat, the initial
diameter of which is substantially smaller than that of the entry
chamber. The throat diameter gradually increases in the direction
of flow until it reaches a frusto-conical chamber, where exit
diameter is substantially larger than its entry diameter. The
frusto-conical chamber serves as a pooling chamber for preliminary
or initial mixing of water and additive with siphoning off of the
mixture taking place through the mixing entry to the main mixing
chamber.
The geometry of the throat and exit chamber is such that the water
stream passing therethrough increases its velocity with a
corresponding drop in pressure, with respect to the velocity and
pressure of the water supply as it entered the inlet.
An additive inlet communicates with the throat and includes
apparatus to enable a selected additive to be directed to the
inlet, to be thereby drawn into the throat by the pressure
differenital created when water flows through the throat. The
precise manner in which this directing is accomplished will be
discussed in detail hereinbelow.
After the additive has entered the water stream, the stream is
directed to a main mixing chamber via a mixing chamber entry. In a
preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mixing chamber
is constructed as a cylinder with its axis arranged perpendicular
to the water flow path. Mounted coaxically and rotably within the
mixing chamber is a mixing wheel having a plurality of vanes shaped
and positioned to have the incoming water/additive stream impinge
thereon, thus imparting rotational movement to the mixing
wheel.
The main mixing chamber terminates at an outlet which may be
constructed to receive a standard fixture, and the mixed stream of
additive and water is thereafter directed for use during one's
laving.
A plurality of separately-formed reservoirs are provided as a
preferred means of storing bath additives until use thereof is
desired. Each such reservoir has a drain leading therefrom,
selectively opened and closed by a toggle-type valve. The drains
communicate with a master drain which, in turn, leads to the
additive inlet formed at the previously-described throat. In the
fashion, it is contemplated that a mixture of additives may, if
desired, be employed.
It is also contemplated that means, such as spring-biased valve
assemblies, be used to allow the injection of a pre-measured amount
of additive. The valve, when actuated, would close automatically,
interrupting the flow of additive.
Referring now to FIG. 1, the numeral 10 indicates generally an
embodiments drawn to a shower accessory intended to enable the
injection of a bath additive such as that described above, and the
mixing thereof downstream of the injection point and upstream of
the shower head or exit point.
Accessory 10 has an inlet 11 and an outlet 12, with both inlet and
outlet threaded, as at 13 and 14, to accommodate the sizes and
pitch of thread most commonly associated with conventional shower
head fittings. Accessory 10, in one embodiment, is formed of two
housing segments, a rear or injection segment 15, and a forward or
mixing segment 16. Segments 15 and 16 may be fastened together,
such as through use of pins or fasteners shown schematically at 17
and 18.
Injection segment 15 has entry chamber 19 formed therein,
communicating with inlet 11, within this embodiment, a diameter
approximating that of the shower piping to which inlet 11 is
intended to be attached. Downstream of chamber 19, the liquid flow
path is constricted, at throat 20, which, in this embodiment,
consists of a passage intially narrow in diameter and gradually
broadening in diameter. Thereafter, exit chamber 21 communicates
with throat 20 and, as herein shown, expands from an initial,
smaller diameter to a final, larger diameter, substantially larger
than, correspondingly, the inlet and outlet diameters of throat 20.
In the present embodiment exit chamber 21 serves as a pooling area
for preliminary mixing of the water and additive components. The
aforementioned mixture is then siphoned off to the main mixing
segment 16 by mixing entry 22.
Mixing segment 16 communicates with injection segment 15 at the
outlet to exit chamber 21, wherein the liquid passing through exit
chamber 21 is directed into mixing entry 22. Entry 22 may be sized
to overlap only a portion of the outlet of exit chamber 21, thus
creating turbulence for initial mixing. In the embodiment herein
shown, a transverse cylindrical cavity 23 is formed with its axis
perpendicular to the axis of mixing entry 22. Rotatably positioned
within transverse cylindrical cavity 23 is main mixing element 24
which, in this embodiment, consists of a paddlewheel having
individually formed vanes 25 formed peripherally thereabout and
rotatably mounted on axle 26. In this embodiment, vanes 25 are
sized and dimensioned such that said vanes are at least as large as
the diameter of mixing entry 22.
Downstream of mixing element 24 is mixing segment exit 27 which
communicates directly with outlet 12.
When installed, it is contemplated that the inlet 11 will be
attached to the shower supply pipe while outlet 12 will be attached
to whatever shower head is selected by the user.
Injection of a selected bath additive is accomplished in the
following manner. An additive inlet 28 is formed along throat 20
communicating with an additive supply segment 29. This segment 29,
in turn, communicates with a reservoir 30, shown in FIG. 1 in
schematic form, and it is contemplated that said reservoir may
either be an integral part of one such assembly 10, or may
represent a vessel positioned apart from the unit and connected to
the unit by tubing or other suitable means.
As shown in FIG. 1, a check valve 31 is positioned between additive
unit 28 and reservoir 30. The purpose of such a check valve is to
insure that a flow path exits from reservoir 30 into throat 20,
while preventing any backflow through additive inlet 28 up into
reservoir 30. As will be discussed hereinbelow, said check valve
may, if required, be positioned elsewhere in the unit, but its
function will remain the same, that is, to assure a one-way flow
path from a selected reservoir into the unit.
In the present embodiment, mixing element 24 is powered by and
motivated by the force of the liquid stream passing through mixing
entry 22 and impinging upon vanes 25. If desired or required, means
may be provided to power mixing element 24 by external means such
as a motor.
Check valve 31 is defeated by the drop in pressure created when the
liquid stream enters throat 20 and travels along the constricted
and gradually increasing taper of throat 20 and exit chamber 21. In
this manner, for a given water flow rate, a predicatable amount of
bath additive should be injectable into the liquid stream when
desired, and the flow of such additive is not dependent upon
gravity feed, or the establishment of a "head" requiring the
placement of the reservoir a significant distance above inlet
28.
Referring now to FIG. 2, a second embodiment of my invention is
herein shown, wherein the unit has been manufactured for
installation as an original piece of equipment. As seen in FIG. 3,
injection segment 15 and mixing segment 16 may thus be positioned
behind shower wall 32 and may thus be concealed from sight.
Also shown in FIG. 2 is a preferred arrangement of reservoirs for
the storage and eventual delivery of bath additives. In the
embodiment shown in FIG. 2, additive reservoirs 33 and 34 are
shown, however, it is contemplated that any selectable number of
such reservoirs may be fashioned in order to provide storage
capacity for numerous different types of bath additives.
In one embodiment, delivery of bath additive to injection segment
15 is controlled by toggle valves 35 and 36. With one such valve in
the on position, bath additive will drain from the corresponding
storage reservoir and will travel, via delivery conduits such as
those shown at 37 and 38 in FIG. 3 to communicate with injection
entry 28. Such switches are positive in operation, simple to
actuate even with wet or slippery hands, attractive and easy to
maintain.
As seen in FIG. 3, each such switch assembly 35 and 36 may also
include, within the body thereof, a check valve assembly not herein
specifically shown. Thus positioned, and as shown in FIG. 4, the
check valve assembly will be positioned between reservoir drain 39
and supply conduit 40. It is also contemplated that the shapes of
reservoirs 33 and 34 while herein shown as rectangular, may employ
any shape either asthetically or mechanically pleasing or
advantageous to the operation and appearance of the unit. It is
also contemplated that a cover, although not herein specifically
shown, may be employed to seal off the reservoirs to prevent water
from being splashed therein, while at the same time maintaining a
sufficient vent arrangement to enable the effective draining of the
reservoir when the appropriate control switch is actuated.
In another preferred embodiment, a check valve may be positioned at
inlet 11 to prevent possible migration of a water/additive mixture
into the water supply lines of the house. As seen in phantom at 49
in FIG. 1, such a valve would prevent any backflow of undrained
water through the unit when not in use.
A preferred embodiment would also provide toggle valves such as 35
and 36 with a spring-biased element which would keep said valves
closed unless depressed and held. This would ensure that accidental
draining of an entire reservoir would not occur, and would also
provide a way to inject measured amounts of additive by depressing
and then releasing the toggle. The length of time the valve would
remain open would determine the amount of additive injected, and
repeated depressions of the valve would result in more additive
being dispensed.
In FIG. 4, there is shown an embodiment of my invention which is
intended for installation on already existing shower facilities.
Quite simply, the existing shower facility will typically have a
curved segment of pipe 41 protruding past wall 42 onto which a
conventional shower head 43 is typically attached. In order to
employ the present invention, the shower head 43 is removed from
pipe segment 41, an operation typically requires no more than the
turning of shower head 43 by hand until it is unthreaded from such
segments. Inlet 11 of accessory 10 is then threaded to shower pipe
segment 41 until it is liquid tightly seated. Again, an operation
which, it is contemplated, may be carried out by hand without the
use of tools. Shower head 43 may, thereafter, be threaded to outlet
12 which, it is contemplated, makes up any required adaptors for
use with shower heads of different thread pitches or
configurations.
In the embodiment herein shown, housing 44 may be positioned about
shower pipe 41 and collar 45, or other suitable means, may be used
to secure housing 44. Housing 44 may also be attached directly wall
42 through use of conventional fasteners.
Housing 44 may include a segment 46 usable as a towel rack or
otherwise usable to hang bath accessories such as brushes or the
like. In the embodiment shown, a series of reservoirs, such as that
indicated generally at 47 may be formed in housing 44, with each
such reservoir being controlled by a separate toggle valve assembly
48 communicating to a common conduit, not herein specifically
shown, which, in turn, is connected to drain 40. In this fashion,
should the user desire a mixture of several bath additives, the
appropriate toggle valve assembly switches may be flipped to the
open position and the resulting additives will run together down
drain 40 into injection segment 15 and, ultimately, into mixing
segment 16 where said additives will be mixed together prior to
exiting through shower head assembly 43.
While the use of toggle-type valves has herein been specifically
described, it is contemplated that other valve assemblies may prove
equally adequate, and the valve assemblies ultimately selected may
represent asthetic as well as mechanical considerations on the part
of the manufacturer and/or purchaser.
In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 4, it is contemplated that the
individual injection segment 15 and mixing segment 16 of device 10
may be easily removed and disassembled for the purpose of repair,
cleaning, or for the purpose of transporting the unit from one
shower to another.
While the foregoing has presented specific embodiments of the
invention herein described, it is to be understood that these
embodiments have been presented by way of example, and are not
intended to limit the spirit or scope of the application. One such
additional embodiment contemplates the installation of the present
invention to feed such additives to fixtures such as water faucets,
for the purpose of supplying soaps and the like to persons washing
their hands. Others may involve the mixing of secondary liquid
streams with a primary stream. It is expected that others, skilled
in the art will perceive variations from the foregoing which, while
differing, remain within the spirit and scope of the invention as
herein described and claimed.
* * * * *